A Youth Care Worker provides safety and security to the facility through proper youth supervision, ensures that the facility behavior management system is enforced in a consistent and fair manner. Youth Care Workers participate as a members of the facility treatment team, assisting youth with meeting performance goals, completes observation checks and provide role model behavior to assist youth with problem solving and competency development. A Youth Care Worker supports juveniles' physical, emotional, educational, and social development in a non-threatening atmosphere.

Role Responsibility:

Supervises and/or participates in various recreation programs and activities with juvenile residents to stimulate interest in and cooperation with various social and education programs.

Manages the overall operations of assigned staff and briefing of same regarding the proper performance of essential facility routines.

Teaches, supervises and/or participates in various daily living activities with juvenile residents to stimulate interest in and train skills needed for independent living.

Provides advice to individual juvenile residents on personal problems they encounter while in the facility such as peer pressure, adapting to the surroundings, and so forth by presenting a positive role model and using common sense to relieve tension and prevent additional problems.

Keeps continual track of the number of juvenile residents under direct supervision through periodic head counts and reports all movements of juvenile residents in areas both inside and outside the facility, to master control, aware at all times of the whereabouts of juvenile residents.

Patrols various locations within the facility for the purpose of checking safety and security hazards such as fire, smoke, broken pipes, unlocked doors, and tampered windows and locks to protect the security and safety of the inmates and the facility.

The Ideal Candidate:

Required Education, Licenses and Certifications

High school diploma or equivalent and successful completion of a required training program

A driver's license valid in the state where the work site is located only if the operation of a vehicle, rather than employee mobility, is necessary to perform the essential duties of the position

Type and Length of Specific Experience Required

Must have at least one year of meaningful and verifiable experience working with youth

Skills Required

Ability to maintain positive professional working relationship with co-workers and juveniles

Ability to cope with crisis situations that occur in a juvenile facility

Excellent oral and written communication skills

Negotiation skills

Other

Must be 21 years of age or older

Physical Requirements and Environment

Talking: Ability to express and exchange ideas via spoken word during activities in which they must convey details or important spoken instructions to others accurately, sometimes quickly and loudly

Hearing and Vision: Ability to perceive the nature of sounds with no less than 40 dB loss at Hz, 1000 Hz and 2000 Hz with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication. Work requires a minimum standard of visual acuity with or without correction that will enable employees to complete clerical tasks, and observe youth.

Dexterity: Ability to stoop, kneel, crouch, reach, push, pull, lift, grasp, and be able to perceive the attributes of an object such as size, shape, and temperature. Movements frequently and regularly required using wrists, hands and/or fingers.

Physical Strength: Ability to exert up to 50 pounds of force occasionally. Position is mostly standing and employee must be able to physically perform escalation matrix as defined in Protective Action Response. This may include, but is not limited to all countermoves and restraint techniques. Employee may be subject to temperature changes, but the employee is not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions as the work is predominantly inside. Language: Ability to write complex sentences, using proper punctuation, and ability to communicate in complex sentences using normal word order with present and past tenses.

Processing and Reasoning: Ability to exercise self-control in potentially volatile situations such as in verbal and physical confrontations. Must be able to work and concentrate amidst distractions and noise. Ability to assist youth with problem solving and maintaining self-control in volatile situations.

The work environment characteristics described are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this position the employee is occasionally exposed to outside weather conditions as they relate to travel. The noise level is usually moderate. Work environment may involve exposure to noise, dust, fumes, dangerous machinery, chemicals, body fluids, falling objects, and aggressive verbal and physical behavior from students and weather and temperature extremes.

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